A Democrat won a state senate seat in a Pennsylvania district that overwhelmingly voted for Donald Trump, offering a ray of hope for the party as it continues to struggle nationally with its response to the Trump administration.
James Malone triumphed on Tuesday in the 36th senatorial district, which voted for Trump over Kamala Harris by more than 15 points in last November’s presidential election, in a victory that Democratic party leadership said “should put Republicans on edge”.
It served as a major upset win for the party, which has seen recriminations spill out into the open after Chuck Schumer, the Democratic Senate minority leader, voted for Republicans’ funding bill to avoid a government shutdown this month.
“I’m very excited and really, really happy that all the work we put in has paid off,” Malone, who won the district by 482 votes, told WGAL-TV.
“Everyday voters are not liking what they’re seeing at the federal level, they don’t like the chaos. We want to be sure that we, as Pennsylvania, are standing up for our neighbors and are standing up for our state.
“And, brotherly love is Pennsylvania, and that just proved out. Kindness over criticism, right? So that’s what we’re trying to do, and I think that that really is what we’re looking at moving forward.”
Trump won Pennsylvania by less than 2% of the vote in 2024, after the state voted for Joe Biden four years earlier. The state has a Democratic governor, rising star Josh Shapiro, but is a persistent swing vote nationally, and is crucial to Democratic hopes of winning the White House in 2028.
Malone’s win capped a second Pennsylvania victory for Democrats on Tuesday, with Dan Goughnour winning a house seat to maintain the party’s slim control of the state house.
“It’s only March, and Democrats have defied the odds again with another upset victory in Republican territory,” Heather Williams, president of the Democratic legislative campaign committee, said in a statement.
“Democrats are on a roll in state legislative races in 2025, from flipping red seats to defending one-seat majorities, which should put Republicans on edge. Both wins affirm Democratic leadership in a moment when GOP power is synonymous with chaos.”
Nationally Democrats have been struggling to present party unity, and Schumer has faced backlash from his colleagues over his funding bill vote. Several Democrats in the House of Representatives, including Glenn Ivey and Delia Ramirez, have suggested Schumer resign, Reuters reported, prompting Schumer to tell NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday: “I’m not stepping down.”
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the popular congresswoman from New York who recently launched a “fighting oligarchy” tour with Bernie Sanders, has criticized what she called an “acquiesce” by Schumer to the Republicans.
“There are members of Congress who have won Trump-held districts in some of the most difficult territory in the United States who walked the plank and took innumerable risks in order to defend the American people,” she said. “Just to see Senate Democrats even consider acquiescing to Elon Musk, I think, is a huge slap in the face.”
